Your child is moving out for the first time: what should you teach them?

Your child is flying the nest to venture out to build a life for themselves. Fortunately not something I have to worry about for a good number of years yet. This can be an exciting, scary and emotional time for the both of you. It’s difficult as a parent to finally give your child that full amount of independence. It’s likely that your maternal instincts will kick in the week before they are set to leave, and you’ll be tempted to offer them to stay so you can protect them, take care of them, and make them all of their meals.

Fortunately, you’ll realise that this won’t help them in the long run, and that the best help you can give as a parent is to help them transition to their new home smoothly. No matter how wise or independent your child already is, it’s likely that even they will need a small amount of guidance in running a household or flat, so be sure to give them these four following tips to help them out.

Moving

The moving day has arrived, and with it the physical requirements to shift all of their belongings to their new ‘pad.’ It’s likely that they’ll have many items they want to take with them, items that have been in their bedroom for years and will help them transition to the new apartment with a sense of reminiscence and comfort from home. If the apartment or house is unfurnished, this is of even more importance, because you might have to bring along a bed, table and chairs.

This is usually a much more cost-effective way of renting a place if you have the furniture to bring with you. Book in advance a professional courier for large items to make sure your items are insured and transitioned safely to the new place. It can surely take a large amount of moving effort from your shoulders.

Bills

When your child moves in, one of their biggest, most pressing priorities is setting up the meters for their energy tariffs. Gas, electricity and water is of paramount importance. Help your child call these companies and set up tariffs in their name. This will help avoid any undue discrepancy in their ability to have access to the basic fundamental survival needs.

You can do without hot water, gas or electricity for a few days, but you’ll certainly notice its loss within a short period, so be sure to get this set up as quickly as possible. For the most part, these supplies are ready to go upon account creation with the energy firms, so be sure to make this your priority.

Flatmates

Living with new flatmates is much different than living with family members. Make sure you emphasize to your child the virtue of cleaning up after themselves and teach them how to respectfully communicate their issue with someone else not doing so.

Cooking

A nice way to see off your child’s launch into independence is to bestow upon them a cooking recipe book that you have most used to craft the meals they have eaten for some time. Show them some simple recipes as well as giving them a few express cooking instructions before they leave. Not everyone is as good or interested in cooking as others, but that doesn’t mean that your child should be clueless.

Everyone should know how to operate an oven, what to boil and what to fry, how to maintain their nutrition in a balanced way. A little express instruction here can prevent your child from making mistakes and only ordering pizza’s all week, wasting money they don’t need to.

These simple tips will help your child flourish in their new abode. Wish them luck!